Closing Wounds, Opening Hearts
by Silky
Summary: ookay *breathe*this is a Gundam W/Evangelion crossover*ducks various flying objects*
1. chapters 1-3

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters—except Angel, steal her and you die! —The stories of Gundam Wing and Neon Genesis Evangelion belong to there respective owners. I don't got any money, so don't sue me. I'm just a poor little fanfic author. 

**_ ~~_ _Closing wounds, Opening hearts ~~ _**

PROLOGUE

She sighed softly and sank back into the comfort of her cushioned couch. 

The lumps were in all the right places, the huge down pillows had found their respective spots.

Her childhood blankie, faded, gray, and warm, was wrapped around her protectively. She gazed into the fire, shutting out bad memories.

The looming silence was broken by the sound of the phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Kyoko Sakuri ?"

"Yes."

"This is Commander Noin. I'm calling from Base 0:1, I have a job for you."

**************************************************************************************

Chapter 1

Base 0:1. She hadn't heard the name for years. She had hoped 

never to hear it again. Yet, now, here she was. In Japan. At the main entrance of Base 0:1.

Home to the last Evangelion unit.

Kyoko shuddered. This was where her childhood was buried.

And this was where she would find it again.

The gate opened. She was pulled into the shadows of her past.

**************************************************************************************

"Heero, would you tell us what the hell is wrong with

you before you wear a hole in the damn carpet!?!" exclaimed an irritated Duo.

Heero had been silently pacing across the room for almost two straight hours.

His fellow Gundam pilots had since become worried as they noticed the look on his face. 

Blank. He was unreadable. This didn't sit well with the rest of them. The patience of Heero's

comrades had dissolved and frustration had set in.

************************************************************************************ 

A tear slid down her cheek and splattered against the cold floor.

"How could you?" Kyoko sobbed.

"What do you mean?"

"How could you do something so evil?"

"I'm still not sure I understand what you mean," questioned the doctor.

"You never destroyed Unit 1:1."

The doctor smiled cruelly, "Why of course not! We knew you'd return someday."

**************************************************************************************

" I still don't understand what's up with Heero," Trowa sighed exasperated.

The four pilots sat in the middle of den, trying to piece

together the odd behavior of their friend. Heero had long since departed

to go wherever it was he went to. 

Duo snorted.

" I'm telling you that kid's got problems. And he knows

somethin' we don't. I just don't know what it is, yet. He's 

been off his rocker ever since we found out there's a new pilot."

" Do you think it might be that he's worried?"

" Well, in case you haven't noticed, he's been acting worried!" shouted Duo.

Quatre shook his head, " No! I mean he's been like this ever since we found

out that the pilot was trained at Base 0:1."

The others nodded in agreement. A week earlier, they had been

informed that a new pilot would join their "squad". A girl who had

been trained at Base 0:1 in Japan. For some reason, those facts had upset Heero. 

No one knew why.

" May be he's worried about making a good impression, eh?" smirked Duo.

" Somehow, I don't think Heero would spend a week

brooding over a girl no one's ever seen before," Trowa frowned," You maybe, But not Heero."

Duo threw a cushion at him.

" I resent that! I wouldn't NEED to worry about making a good 

impression. I know I would. She'd be drooling as soon as she laid eyes on me!"

Trowa rolled his eyes. Wufei snorted.

**************************************************************************************

__

2 days later—onboard shuttle

Kyoko shifted distractedly. Noin noticed the younger girl fidgeting,

and saw the distant gaze in her eyes.

" Nervous"

"Yeah. I can't believe I'm doing this."

Believe it."

"I'm going to pilot Eva again. I'm afraid, Commander. I gave up that life

because of the pain it brought. Now I'm going back and something tells me

that the pain will be greater."

Noin just sat quiet and smiled knowingly.

"Noin?"

"Hhmn?"

"I'll see him again won't I?"

"Heero? Yes, you'll see him again."

Kyoko smiled weakly. She wondered if the years had changed him also.

She wondered if he was different than the boy she had known at Base 0:1.

Seeming to read her thoughts, Noin said softly, 

" Don't expect the happy go-lucky kid he used to be. 

He's not the sweet little boy you knew, Angel. That was a long time ago. 

The war's been hard on everyone."

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Interlude 1

__

He's not the sweet little boy you knew, Angel…

Those words said a lot. What they meant was not something

Kyoko needed, or wanted, to know.

__

He's not the sweet little boy you knew, Angel…

The words echoed in her mind. Fear and doubt took

on their native guises and proceeded to wreak havoc on her mind.

Kyoko sat bolt upright in bed.

__

I'll see him tomorrow.

Tomorrow.

At that moment, she realized how much she had changed. 

No longer was she the outgoing, flamboyant child of yesterday. 

Her past seemed so far away, and yet so close.

Her stomach clenched_._

If she had changed this much, what about him? He had been in the war. 

She had not. She had escaped. He had not.

She winced as the meaning of Noin's words hit home. It had been a long,

hard war. They had both changed, as people do. She no longer knew

what to expect. But one thing was for certain. 

Angel was no longer brave. 

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Chapter 2

" I don't see the point of this!" argued Wufei.

"Aw, c'mon man, doncha wanna see the new chic?" goaded Duo,

"Heard she's pretty hot."

Trowa rolled his eyes, " Don't you mean, the new competition? 

Besides no one here's even seen her yet, so how could they know if she's hot or not."

"You're so negative it's unbelievable!" cried Duo.

Quatre, who had been ignoring the harmless banter,

proceeded to read the new pilot's profile report. It had been 

sent directly from Operations that morning.

"Hey, guys?" he questioned, " What's an Evangelion?"

A confused hush fell over the group. All eyes were on Heero. 

He had been treading silently ahead of them, seeming to ignore them

all entirely. At the word 'evangelion', he had stopped immediately.

He abruptly turned to face them, an unearthly glare shadowed in his eyes.

"What did you say?" he snarled.

" I...I just asked what an Evangelion was," sputtered Quatre.

He had never seen his comrade act this way before. It was disturbing, 

to say the least. 

" Dude, what's the problem? You know something we

don't? You gotta admit, you have been actin' weird ever 

we found out 'bout this pilot. What the hell's wrong with you, man?"

There was a moment of intense, silent tension, then bedlam broke loose. 

In seconds Heero crossed the gap between himself and Duo, 

and slammed the other boy against the nearby wall. No words were

exchanged between them. The look in Heero's eyes and the 

expression on his face was enough. He let go of Duo and 

stormed off to places unknown.

Duo brushed himself off and looked to the rest of the group.

"I think we'd better leave him alone for a while. 

Whatever the hell ' Evangelion' means, it's got 

something to do with Heero's past," he turned to 

stare down the darkened passage, "That kid's got a lot of 

problems he still need to deal with."

**************************************************************************************

" That's no Gundam."

It towered above them, casting its shadow 

across the platform. They watched in wonder as the

'thing' was trucked down into the lower levels of the Base.

The 'thing' looked similar to a Gundam, 

but it was a style of mecha they had never seen before. 

And on another, stranger note, it was _different_. There 

was something about it entirely foreign. Something it

had the their Gundams did not.

" That weird thing you're thinking of, the factor

you can't quite put your finger on? It's called a soul."

The voice had been distinctly feminine. The boys turned around. 

And stared. Duo's jaw hit pavement. In turn Kyoko smiled.

"Call me Angel."

************************************************************************************

And hour later found the five teenagers in a small, 

cozy café on the mainland.

" I really don't understand what the 

Evangelion is exactly."

"Well, it's a creature that was created from 

tissue from the organism Adam. Adam was the first angel…"

As she spoke, the eyes of her listeners

glazed over. She couldn't help but laugh.

"It's a long story, maybe you could take a 

raincheck?"

"Offer accepted," Trowa grinned.

" One more question though," Wufei urged,

" If it's the last Eva, then why is it called Unit One?"

"No, no, silly! It's not One, it's called Unit 1:1. 

There were for others: Prototype 0:0. , Unit 0:1, Unit0: 2, and Unit 0:3."

"And where are they?"

Kyoko stared at them blankly. The rest of the

world really had forgotten then. She wondered briefly 

if anyone not familiar with Base 0:1 still even knew about the Impacts.

"Have you ever heard of the Third Impact?"

"Yea."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well, Eva 0:0,0:2,0:3 were destroyed in it, along with

nine new prototypes that were crucified in outer space. 

0:1 was lost. No one knows where it is."

"I thought that the whole Impact thing was just

some war 500 years ago, I don't remember ever hearing about Evangelions."

"Eva can live forever as long as there is a soul inside.

And the Impacts' a pretty complicated story, how' about I take

a raincheck on this, eh?" Angel winked.

The table once again became silent. Quatre rested

his chin on his hand and wondered aloud,

" I wonder how Heero's doing."

There was a sharp intake of breath from the new

pilot. And it didn't go unnoticed.

"Say, Angel?" Duo eyed her suspiciously,

"Would you happen to know a guy named Heero Yuy?"

There. He'd said it. Heero Yuy. The name that had been haunting her.

The name of the boy she had left behind. A familiar wave of guilt washed 

over her. As she looked from face to face, panic crept through her. 

What should she say? How was she going to explain that before he

had met them, before he had become a Gundam pilot, 

he had been hers?

__

Be the actress, Angel. Play your part, Angel. Stay calm. Breathe.

" Odin Lowe?"

Duo sat back, stunned. The café around them 

murmured in its usual aroma. It was filled with the soft voices of people 

enjoying their own private worlds. At this table, however, the world had 

stopped and the hush grew deeper.

" How do you know that name?" Trowa asked, almost harshly.

"I was there."

"What do you mean, you were there?" 

"I was there, at Base 0:1, the day they code-named 

him Heero. We were five," it took all the strength

she had to keep from crying.

Angel set her latte down. Her hand was

shaking violently. Duo placed his own over it and whispered gently,

"It's okay. You don't have to talk about it right now."

Angel smiled. She thanked him and proceeded

to question them about the base that would be her new home.

"Aquarius is the first Geofront the world 

has seen for almost 500 years. 'Cept, it's a tiny bit 

more advanced than those ones," Quatre grinned, " It has the latest in technology, 

comfort, communication, and military command and training."

"Sounds cool. I'm guessing it's called 

Aquarius 'cause it's built on an island?"

" Right."

"Don't worry! You're gonna love it here!" laughed Duo.

"Ya, whatever," Angel's eyes glittered with happiness. 

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"Kay, so like, some chic named Relena Peacecraft is 

coming' here to meet me, you guys know anything 

about her I might need to know?"

Their voices trailed off into the night. 

Under the soft glow of café light, the talk and laughter of youth continued.

**************************************************************************************

Interlude 2

He had known. He cursed himself for his stupidity.The moment 

the report came in, saying that a pilot 

would be arriving from Base 0:1, he had dreaded 

the answer to his assumption. He had prayed he was 

wrong, that it wasn't her. That it was some other girl. 

Just some new Gundam pilot that he could ignore. But everything 

in his being told him he was right.

Heero stared at his hands. People

had died at those hands. How would he explain that?

__

It was a war, Heero. You did what had to be done. 

Heero's eyes darkened._ But I didn't have to become what I've become._

He had done everything to forget his past. He had

become the perfect soldier. He had lost the meaning his childhood

had held. He was still running. He had learned to deal with pain. All

pains but those of memory. He was still running. Running from painful memories.

Now she had returned. The Angel had flown back to him; he had

to stop running. He had to face her, and face his past.

But heroes don't forgive fallen angels.

**************************************************************************************

Chapter 3

She hit the floor. Hard. The blond girl groaned.

"God! Why does it have to be morning already!"

The door to her room opened. Kyoko peeked out from

under her pile of blankets. And promptly found herself face 

to face with a pair of black shoes.

"Rise and shine, sleeping' beauty!"

She screamed. The three boys laughed as they dodged 

various flying objects, pillows included.

"Out! Out! Out!"

While the others hastily followed her orders, Dou 

leaned back and added,

"Don't take to long. You don't want to miss your first 

Aquariun breakfast." 

15 minutes later, Kyoko was standing in front of a full length

mirror, surveying her reflection.

__

Looking good,Ky—

Angel, she corrected herself, _You're Angel again._

She pointed a finger at herself,

" You're Angel, and you're gonna stay Angel." 

She smirked. She was wearing her favorite pants—black leather

ones that fit like a pair of tight jeans--- and, for lack of better timing

(or wider selection, seeing as she hadn't unpacked yet) a green tank

that exposed a lot of midriff._ Damn good._

She glanced at the clock on her nightstand.

"Oh, crap! Breakfast!"

**************************************************************************************

Angel burst into the dining hall, panting heavily.

"Am I late? You guys eat without me? I didn't miss breakfast did I?"

Quatre looked up from his coffee. He had a slightly amused 

expression on his face.

" Angel, remember how I said that Aquarius had the latest in comfort?"

"Wha? Ya?"

" Well, the kitchen's open all day. You eat whenever you want," he smiled.

Angels face fell. Then they had to wonder why she had been dubbed "Angel".

Angel tackled Dou. She began beating on him with her fists, ranting and raving,

while all he could do was laugh.

"I can't believe you! You walk into my room! Wake me up! And then you

make me rush to get ready so I don't miss breakfast, then I find out that I 

didn't need to wake up at all!" 

Angel cursed him repeatedly, pausing briefly to shake and punch 

the prankster. Duo of course, had been hoping for such a reaction, and he proceeded

to laugh and revel in his genius. This of course, made Angel angrier.

Wufei walked in. He was greeted by the site of Trowa reading a 

book of some sort, Quatre drinking coffee, watching Duo and Angel,

laughter in his eyes. Wufei then let his gaze fall on the source of the 

commotion. Duo and Angel. It seemed that the boy had tired of being hit,

(as the girl's punches were gradually getting more painful, and his head hurt

from being pounded on the floor) and he was trying to push her off him.

Except, Angel wasn't through with her punishment yet. She was 

straddled across his hips, her hands gripping his shirt collar, the poor boy's face an inch away

from hers, his ears subjected to an extremely loud voice. Wufei decided to speak up,

"Would you two shut up! You'll wake the whole base!"

The victims of his fury hushed instantly, as if finally aware that they were 

acting like children. They stared at the speaker. The latter added,

" And if you're just going to sit there and grope each other, you might 

as well get a room."

Angel stood up. And dropped Duo. The back of his head hit the floor.

That time it actually hurt. Rubbing the sore spot he sat up.

"Guess she's not a morning person, huh?" he winked.

**************************************************************************************

The ruckus had settled and the five teenagers now found themselves

seated around various places in the dining hall. Wufei and Trowa were 

seated at tables alone, each immersed in their coffee and objects of attention. 

Wufei was cleaning a sword and Trowa was reading. Quatre, Duo, and Angel were 

acting more human than the other pilots. Angel had decided that he feet were

comfortable on the tabletop and Duo had decided that he was comfortable sitting on a chair backwards. Quatre agreed with Duo. And, as if to complete the scene, the three were having a normal, teenage

conversation of nothing in particular.

Angel was smiling, something she had grown used to again. She would have to,

if she was going to remain anywhere near these boys. It had been years since

her smiles had been real. For the first time, in a long time, Angel was happy.

Then, silence descended. Their table had fallen to a hush. Heero. 

He was leaning against a far wall, watching them. Watching her. Then, without 

a word, he left and silence lifted. But the talk this time was different. It had a purpose.

" What is it between you, anyway?" Duo questioned.

"Nothing," Angel denied

Quatre looked her in the eye and said slowly, " He's probably on his way to

Operations, he goes there everyday."

Angel sighed. She'd have to face him sooner or later, 

it might as well be then. She gulped and nodded. It would be now.

**********************************************************************************

"Heero, wait!" she called.

Her insides fluttered. What would she say? She needn't have worried. He kept walking

as though he hadn't heard her.

"HEERO! STOP!"

He stopped. And turned. Their eyes met. A wave of conflictin

emotions rushed through them. All the years they had been apart. The reason why.

The memories of a past long ago, a happiness they missed so much. And now, 

a longing for something that didn't exist.

She saw his eyes darken and she felt the tear slide down her cheek. 

No words _could_ be spoken. Not then. It was too soon. His gaze wavered. 

Her vision blurred and the last thing she saw was Heero walking away.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and pulled close to embrace her comforter.

Duo held her gently as she sobbed into his chest.

"He left me, my hero left… like I did. I'm sorry… so sorry, I never should've…

I should've…" she choked incoherent apologies through her tears.

For Duo the jokes were off. They wouldn't help now. This situation 

was far more serious than he had previously imagined. Now was not the 

time to pretend it was nothing, nor was it a time to do anything other than 

let the girl in his arms do anything but cry. 

And when she was done crying, he wouldn't remind her of it.

People don't like feeling helpless. He would do his best to keep her from feeling just that: alone.

**_The End, _**

For now

** a/n :: I hope you guys don't mind. I'm not an expert on Gundam wing. I live in america—that should explain it. To clear up some confusion—this takes place about 500 years after the End of Evangelion(I go bye the movie ending cuz the other one sucks) and after the end of Gundam Wing. I have never seen Endless waltz—so in my timeline it doesn't exist. I'll keep you posted on when the next chapters come out. Tell me what you think, I really wanna know. (And as for that last scene in ch2: I was trying to represent the ability of people to avoid what's painful. Hence—the drastic mood swings and changes on to topic of conversation—Angel doesn't want to talk about Heero cuz it kinda sorta hurts. For give them, their just teenagersJ ANYYYWAYY) *a lightbulb appears above Silky's head *oh yeah, and Noin's a Commander now!! 

**a/n :: just thought I might warn you—I have drastic mood swings. This story will switch mood settings so fast it's unbelievable. Most of the time I do it on purpose, sometimes it just ends up that way—since the characters ARE people, and even people have fun. I'm referring to the Interlude2 to Chapter 3 change. It was kinda, well, let's just say Heero's a bit dark, and Angel was having a blondgetsmad moment.JJ Hope you don't mind.


	2. chapters 4-5

*Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing, I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. I wish I did—but alas, I'm not that great. *falls on knees and worships Anno* I do own Angel- don't steal her unless you have MY permission J *remembers the creators of Gundam—bows to them too* Okay—now on wit da story.

**_~~ Closing Wounds, Opening Hearts ~~_**

Chapter 4 

__

1-week late r-- Peacecraft Shuttle-- Destination: Aquarius

Relena drummed her fingers impatiently against the armrest.

The trip had taken far to long for her liking. Besides she never had been that fond of space.

It was too quiet, too lonely.

She sighed and continued to thumb through the profile report she held.

The subject had caught her interest. Not only had the girl been trained

to pilot Eva -- instead of a Gundam or other mobile suit -- but she had been trained so at Base 0:1, 

alongside Heero. 

Relena had, of course, let her curiosity get the best of her. Now she was on her way to learn 

what she needed to know. 

She leaned back and stared out the window, seeing stars in the distance, and fixed her eye on the blue planet below. She was relieved to be returning at last. She sighed again. From here on, she knew things would only get more complicated. Her heart told her as much.

So many things didn't make sense. And the information she had found just raised more questions. Base 0:1 had to fit in somehow. It was the key to something dark, that had to be why the name sent chills up her spine. That had to be why so many people seemed afraid of it. Or what it held. Was it the Eva?

Somewhere along the line, this pilot had left the Base. Why? Was it pacifism? Then why would she be at Aquarius now?

Another disturbing factor was Heero. It was _after_ the girl had fled that Heero began to train as a Gundam pilot.

_There's more to this, I know_, thought Relena,_ Do you, Angel, have the answers I seek?_

**************************************************************************************

__

Meanwhile, at Aquarius—

"Duo?"

"What now?" the braided boy whined.

Angel leaned out her door,

"You're still standing there?"

He rolled his eyes," C'mon, get out here already!"

The blond girl looked around the hallway. 

Technicians, soldiers, and the like passed by, ignoring the teenagers as they made their ways down the passage. Occasionally, one or two stopped to watch the disagreement: Duo trying to persuade Angel that she looked fine –gorgeous in fact, and the girl disagreeing, slamming her door, and finding something else to wear.

Occasionally was enough. Angel wrinkled her nose and grabbed Duo by the collar, slamming the door shut behind them.

**************************************************************************************

" Where's Heero?"

"Sparring with Wufei,"** Trowa answered, not even bothering to look up.

" Humph, figures. Hey are you going to come see Relena today?"

" Doubtfully." 

Quatre sighed. Someone really needed to get that boy to open up. He was way to quiet.

**************************************************************************************

" For the last time! You look fine! There's nothing wrong with what you're wearing—or what you've been wearing!" Duo cried, then smirking, he added, " Except that pink bathrobe you've got."

Angel glared at him. She spun on her heel and stormed back into her closet. From there she called,

" Well, it's not like I'm just gonna walk around in my underwear, you know!"

" Why not?" Duo replied innocently.

Ignoring his last comment, Angel strode out of her walk-in and stood in front of her mirror. She scanned her reflection. Her hair was up in a bun, with a few of the shorter tendrils hanging down the sides. It wasn't too bad, but since then, her clothes had become the main issue. She had on a white skirt that ended just above her knees, with a pink silk blouse.

" You don't think it's too conservative, do you?" She asked, worried,

" You're asking ME?"

" I'm serious, Duo! What if she's one of those chicks who hates over conservative people?"

" Like you?"

" I don't hate 'em, I just don't like wearing the clothes that much."

" Look, don't worry 'bout it, it's not like you're trying to impress some guy or anything."

" That's not it! You're supposed to dress to make the other girls jealous. When you walk into a room, you gotta turn people's heads. Women _and _men, that's the point."

" So that's why you wear what you wear around us guys? Those really sexy clothes, you wear 'em to impress me?" Duo asked slyly.

Angel glared at him.

" Not YOU, all guys, duh."

" Aahh, but what if I'm not the kinda guy who likes those clothes? What if I think conservative clothes are sexy, huh?

" Why should I care what you think?"

"Hey!"

" Besides, you like what I wear, so get over it."

" Don't be so sure, Angel," he winked, " maybe I'm the kinda guy who likes those prude clothes, so I can find out for myself, eh?"

" Like you'd ever get the chance," she spat.

" Oh, that hurts," Duo laughed, faking a hurt expression. 

Angel sauntered back into her closet, muttering.

" What was that you said?" called Duo.

" None of your damn business!"

" You know, we're gonna be late. I don't think that's the impression you want do you?"

" And what impression would that be?"

"Oh, I dunno, you're supposed to meet Relena Peacecraft in about 10 minutes, but you show up late. With me," he smirked, _that_ would get her moving.

A loud crash was heard from Angel's area of presence. She ran out of the closet and out the door in a flash, almost forgetting to grab Duo on her way out.

**************************************************************************************

Quatre laughed as a familiar blur rushed past him. He heard a shout, a loud crash, followed by a high pitched shriek. Still smiling, he winced as he heard a resounding thump.

"He'll be feelin' that one tomorrow."

The blond boy turned the corner. He doubled over with laughter at the sight that greeted him. Apparently, Wufei and Heero had finish sparring. It must have been Wufei who shouted. The four were tangled in a dog pile on the floor.

" I broke a nail!" wailed Angel.

" Get off me!" Wufei demanded.

" I'm not on you!" Retorted Angel, scrambling quickly away from the boys.

The girl pulled at her shirt and wrinkled her nose. Duo paled considerably when he noticed her expression.

"Eeeww! Gross! There's sweat all over me!"

" Angel…" Duo began.

" No time to talk! Gotta take a shower. Can't meet a princess smelling like a dirty, sweaty boy," she said as she took off back to her room.

**************************************************************************************

Relena walked down the hall, frustration apparent in her eyes. She had waited for on the platform for at least 15 minutes. She wasn't used to being stood up. When her meeting had been delayed for unknown reasons, she decided to search out Angel herself.

Angel practically ran down the passage. She stopped abruptly at the sound of voices, causing the boys to almost run into her. They didn't, to their obvious relief.

She whipped out her mirror and smiled at her reflection. Quickly, she re-brushed her hair (which was now left down), and dropped the items back into her handbag.

Angel breathed once the turned the corner.

Relena stopped short when another group came into view. She saw four familiar faces, along with a girl she knew not. _That must be Angel_.

Angel strode confidently down the corridor. She wore a confident face – as if to show Relena that she wouldn't be intimidated. When the pilot laid eyes on the princess, she smirked. She needn't have worried.

**********************************************************************************

_--1 hour later—lobby of Aquarius _

" Do girls always talk this much?" complained Wufei.

Duo and Quatre looked at him with pity in their eyes. Heero was silent, deep in thought, the usual as of late.

As soon as the girls had met, they seemed to instantly click. Sort of. Their personalities had sharp differences. But, for some reason, they had found equality amongst themselves. An offer of genuine friendship that both eagerly accepted.

Angel noticed the bored gazes of the boys. She smiled.

" Hey, Rel, whadda ya say we ditch these guys and go have ourselves some fun?"

" What do you mean by fun?"

" You know, shopping, salon, manicures the usual."

" Sure," Relena grinned.

The Gundam pilots stared confusedly at the open door in front of them. Women. They would never understand them. 

******************************************************************************

Chapter 5

The two girls slumped wearily into a booth at a small café. Angel noted wryly that it was the same place the boys had taken her to on her first night at Aquarius.

" So when are ya leaving'?" questioned Angel.

Relena shrugged, replying that since she was no longer really needed at the moment, and she was free to do what she pleased.

" Then why did you come here?"

" I wanted to see someone," Relena said nonchalantly. 

Angel narrowed her eyes, grinning, " Oh? Got someone special, do you? Lemme guess—Quatre?"

" No."

" Trowa?"

"No."

" Wufei? Wait never mind."

" Why, Angel, how could you say such a thing?" smiled the princess.

" Oh, I could just see it now-- Wufei dear? What do you want, woman!" Angel mocked, purposely doing a bad job at imitating the two. The girls laughed.

" But, Rel, that only leaves Duo and Heero."

" Yeah, so?"

" So which one's the lucky guy? Heero?"

I wish!"

" Then you're going with Duo?" Angel tried desperately to imagine Duo dating someone like Relena.

" No. I'm not going out with any of them! I came here to see you," Relena corrected calmly.

" Me! Why would you come hear just to see me? I thought I was just meeting you cuz' I was new or something."

" Nope. I came here just to talk to you."

" What? Why?"

Angel instinctively threw up her guard. Something in her friend's eyes was off. It didn't add up. There was more to Relena's 'visit' than making new friends. She set her latte in front of her. Looking Relena straight in the eyes she spoke slowly,

" What exactly do you want from me?"

" Well, for one thing, I want to be your friend-"

" Cut the sappy crap and ask me!"

" How did you know I had a question?"

" Because everyone's always asking me questions. Let me guess yours. It's about when I was at Base 0:1, huh?"

" Well, yes, sort of."

"Then just ask me."

" What happened?"

" What happened when?"

" There's one thing I don't get. You were being trained for Eva piloting. Heero, the same age and capability as you, was there. Then you left. Why? After you left, Heero immediately began training as Gundam pilot and dark op. After you left. Why then and not before? What happened?"

" What if I don't want to tell you?"

************************************************************************************

Duo and Quatre nodded solemnly at one another. This would be hard. Very. When Heero wanted to keep secrets, he damn well kept them. So how was it would the two boys get any answers out of their ever so secretive friend? They had absolutely no idea.

" Hey, Heero, we're gonna ask you some questions, okay? And you're gonna be a good little boy and answer them, okay? Okay Duo, whatever you say, Duo," Duo tried a tactful approach. Unfortunately, it didn't work. His reply came in the form of a glare that could be interpreted one way:_ There is an idiot speaking to me._

" Heero, we're really worried. You've been acting very strangely ever since Angel showed up. And whenever we mention you around her, she locks up and tries not to cry. We know you two haven't spoken to each other since she arrived, and we know you two have some sort of a past history together, so there's obviously a reason. And there's also obviously an answer that one or both of you has," Quatre stated firmly. His reasoning was, of course, actually more effective. At least they got some words, whether they liked them or not.

" It's not really any of your business you know."

Quatre sighed, defeated. They knew they'd never get any answers out of _this_ soldier. Duo shook his head regretfully.

" It's no use, Quatre. Damnit, Heero, this is so uncool!"

**************************************************************************************

"I just LOVE your hair!" squealed Angel.

The two girls' wanderings had landed them in a salon. After much thought, consideration, protests, and a little bit of angelic reasoning, Relena had decided to cut her hair. A lot of it.

The long, dark blond tresses had been boring and somewhat childish. So the girls got rid of it. Relena had a new do. It was cut short. Three layers, feathered at the bottom, and trimmed around her ears. They had even livened the color, highlighting the lighter blond and deepening the darker—giving a result of pure honey. Angel was very pleased with herself. From the moment she saw the princess, she knew short hair would be better. And, of course, she was right.

************************************************************************************

A few hours later found the girls holed up in Angel's room, sifting through their purchases. Relena had, along with her new hairstyle, gotten a crash course in fashion thanks to Angel. 

So, now they lay sprawled across Angels bed, comparing their clothes to the ones in the magazines they had bought. Overall, the girls had spent around $400 dollars between them. But, hey, Relena was rich—she could afford it. Though of course, there were _always_ sales.

After the two blondes had organized their belongings, and trekked across the hall to put away Relena's stuff, they settled back in Angel's apartment to talk and paint their nails.

" You know, Relena, I've heard some things about you," smiled Angel.

"Hhmm? Like what?"

" Just some things the boys told me."

" Oh!" she rolled her eyes," God help us all!"

**************************************************************************************

Relena walked silently to her room. She sighed contentedly, Angel was a great person—and an even better friend. But a friend with a dark past. When would she get her answers? Soon, later? Never?

Her thoughts were cut short when she noticed a person walking towards her. Heero.

" Heero? What are you doing at this hour?"

" What do you care?" he said in his traditional monotone.

Relena put her hands on her hips and did her best to glare at him. But her demeanor changed as she noticed that she no longer held his attention. He stared wistfully at the door behind her. The door to Angel's room. Their was a strange quality in his eyes. Something she had never seen in them before. She wasn't allowed to analyze though. Heero's eyes darkened suddenly, as though he had just remembered something unpleasent. His Prussian blue eyes now burned with an icy hatred. Heero then walked away, not bothering to say anything to her.

Relena shut her door behind her. _That was beyond strange._

What had just happened. Now, she was convinced that there was something going on. Something deep, dark, and secretive. It was in the air. That look in Heero's eyes. Could it have been _love_? But how what that possible, when the emotion that had followed had been pure unadulterated hatred. 

Two such emotions of that intensity could not possibly be borne in one person.

*************************************************************************************

Interlude 3

She shivered in the silent darkness. Her eyes sparkled as the moonlight reflected in her tears.

Dreams. Haunting dreams of terror and despair. The past would plague her once again, it seemed.

She covered her ears with her hands, trying desperately to block out the screams that echoed through her mind. The images of her dream still lingered, fresh in her mind. 

A sharp chill ran swiftly down her spine.

These dreams, how could she make them stop? How could she fight this pain?

The regret of what she had done was enough to last a lifetime. And now, the reason would torment her. Forms of dreams, why did they haunt her so? It was especially hard, with him so close.

After all these years, why did it return? Wasn't the guilt she carried enough? Didn't she suffer enough pain? But alas, there was nothing she could do.

__

Besides, I deserve it.

Bitter sobs wracked through her. She knew, as she had known, there was no escape. Unless she ran again. Unless she left. She didn't know if she could do it, or if she should. The tears still fell.

Solace was unattainable here.

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Another horrible Ending but don't worry it's not forever 

A/N 5/7:: HEY THERE, um what's up? Anyway, ch 6 is coming SOON, you're gonna love it. Angel starts her synch tests—I would appreciate some help (such as explain the process atiny bit cuz it confuses me) via e'mail. But something unexpected happens—you're either gonna hate me or love me for it. Well I'm gonna shut up before I babble out the WHOLE story to ya. Please review and tell me what you think—cuz I know that a ton a people read it. Even if they are bad reviews I don't care I need to know what you think—I write to please people! *makes puppy dog eyes*

A/n 4/28:: Sorry all you Relena haters—but nothing terrible is gonna happen to her. (Well not REALLY terrible anyway) By the way now that she's older she's lost her ugly hair (she got it cut really short it's now adorable and not crusty yay *cough* any-way and she's got style!

Sorry that this chapter wasn't really deep like the rest of em' I'm kind on an inspiration low right now

Please send reviews or email me with your questions, comments, and much needed/appreciated ideas.

High Priestess Lunatic ** that was for you *smirk*

LUV YA LOTZ

Silky


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